Not all
Papillons Females or Males should be
bred. And contrary to what many people may think even some nice show Papillons are not good Papillons for
breeding purposes. Making the decision to have a litter of puppies is
not a decision to be taken lightly. First thing to
consider, is
if your female is of good enough quality to breed.

Is
she a conformation champion or have an excellent breeding quality
pedigree of several champions in the first 3 generation of the
pedigree.

Is she large enough to potentially deliver a litter
naturally? We do not suggest breeding a less than 5 pound
female. Females under 5 pounds often do not have a large
enough pelvis to deliver puppies naturally through the birth
canal. If your bitch looks like she is similar size or smaller
to the picture on the right than I would consult your veterinarian
and an experienced Papillon Breeder for advice prior to your female
coming into season.

In addition to her size and ability to free whelp you
must consider her additional qualities.

Is she of a pleasant
breed type and conform to the Papillon Standard?

Are her patella's sound?

Have you had her eye's cleared of Progressive
Retinal Atrophy?

Does she have a correct scissors bite and the
teeth & jaw are not overshot, undershot or level?

Does she have
acceptable Papillon face markings?

Does she have a sweet outgoing temperament?

Does she have good front, rear movement and nice side gait?

Do you know if her lineage carries any genetic
health problems?

If the answer is NO to any of
these questions, I would suggest she is not of reproducing quality.
If your bitch only has a few minor faults, it is important to look
for a stud dog that does not have those same
faults.

If your female has any health problems
or has a family genetic history of health problems she could pass those
genes onto her puppies. Please
refer to our health page
for more information.

Are You Prepared!

Are you prepared for expenses of whelping a
litter? Papillons have a high incidence of birthing
problems. Over half of our puppies born present themselves breach (rear first).
Which means they must be pulled out of the birth canal. Depending on the veterinarian and area of the country a
C-section can cost anywhere from $200 to $1,000.00
If surgery is at an emergency clinic the cost of surgery
can be much higher. Litters for many first time Pap breeders
result in a cesarean section.

Are you prepared to be grossed out? You must be
willing to roll up your sleeves and get amniotic fluid, blood,
afterbirth, green placenta discharge, and sometimes poop on your
hands shirt, pants and anything else in the immediate
area. One out of Three puppies are usually needing to be
pulled from the birth canal. It is not unusual for puppies
to become stuck in the womb. When they do... are you able
to face putting on latex gloves, globing your fingers with K-Y
and sticking your index or pinkie fingers into the vagina to
assist a puppy that is stuck, or push a puppy back inside in
hopes it will turn around? All the while your just praying
the sack doesn't break! Do you have hemostats that will serve as
forceps when your fingers are not strong enough to pull on a
puppy? To get the pup out are you ready to take a chance
and pull off parts of a tail, or heaven forbid a leg??? Yes,
Occasionally it does happen. Novice whelpers are more
prone to birthing accidents and dead puppies.

Are you prepared for the joy of a live 2 oz
puppy, only to go through the sorrow of it fading and
dieing 24 hours to two weeks later? The death chant
of a fading puppy is a sound that will burn in your memory for a
lifetime.

This furbaby faded after 1 week of
life. Allot of tube feeding and little sleep for the
breeder.

Think we are exaggerating?

Are you poo pooing off what you just read thinking we are over
protective, over exaggerating toy dog breeders, or one of the
snobby show breeders? Think again... It takes
dedication, and common sense and the knack to know your dogs in
trouble to whelp small dogs. We have seen a number of successful large dog breeders have one
litter of Paps, it end in disaster, and never want to breed
another litter of Papillons again. Many have found out the
hard way... It ain't just catching the
puppies before they hit the floor!!!

Papillons ARE NOT the breed we would encourage
you to breed if your wanting a litter so the kids can experience
a "Lesson in Nature".

After you have determined
that your female Papillon is worthy to attempt having a litter you must
find a good
quality male. When looking for a good male you need to
ask some of the same questions?

Does the potential sire to your
puppies have several champions
within a 3 generation pedigree?

Is he of a pleasant breed type and conform to
the Papillon Standard?

Are his patella's sound?

Has his eye's been cleared of Progressive
Retinal Atrophy?

Does he have a scissors bite?

Does he have acceptable Papillon face markings?

Does he have a sweet outgoing temperament?

Does he have good front, rear movement and nice
side gait?

Does he have any genetic history of health
problems?

Does he excel in quality (or cross fault) where
your female needs improvement?

After you find a male that may be suitable for your
girl you must approach the stud dog owner and find out if the dog is
available for outside stud.

Stud Contracts

Stud Contracts can range from
$200.00 to $1,000.00 depending on the dog, if he is a champion, or
group placer. Other criteria to that reflects in the stud dog cost
is he is proven stud dog, or has champion, group placing offspring.
Is the Stud Dog a sire of merit or distinction meaning he has
produced 6 - 13 champion offspring. Stud agreements can also be easy with you only paying for
semen, to requiring that all offspring that the breeder does
not keep must be spayed or neutered. It is also very
common to have a first right of refusal to purchase all offspring
clause in the contract. Expect to have your bitch tested for brucellosis
and micro plasma.
And possibly have her smeared or progesterone tested for the most
optimum breeding time. To protect dogs from breeding diseases
some some stud dog owners will only artificially inseminate a
female from another kennel. Click to see an example of what a Forevr
Stud Contract may look like (please note this dog is at private
stud and is bred only to select champion bitches.)

Waiting for Your Bitches Heat Cycle

You have now decided that your
bitch is of a worthy quality to produce nice quality healthy puppies that
could have the potential of being good representatives of the breed. She has had two or more
normal heat cycles and is less than 5 years of age for her first litter.
Your vet has examined her, performed the necessary tests that the
stud dog owner requires and deemed her good criteria to carry a
litter and free whelp puppies. You have also found a
stud dog and
agreed upon the terms of a stud contract.

Your
bitch is in Season

Your bitch just now
come into her heat cycle. Separate her away from any intact
male dogs. If she is a house pet, to keep bloody spots off furniture
and clothing you may want to invest in a pair of bitches
britches for her to wear. It is time to call the owner of the stud
dog and make arrangements to drop or ship your girl off for
mating.

A female heat cycle usually lasts between 9 to
20 days. Most of our Papillons cycle runs around 17
days.

A female has three stages of their heat
cycle.

The beginning of the cycle is when the vulva swells
and bleeds a bloody discharge. At this time she will not be
receptive for breeding.

The middle of the heat cycle the blood discharge
turns to a straw color. This is usually between days 9 -
12 of the heat. The vulva softens to the touch. Her tail
will flag side to side and she will flirt with the males.
This is usually a good indication that she is ready to start
being breed. There are other ways to determine whether your
bitch is ready to be bred. 1.) Smearing the vaginal
discharge and veterinarian examination through a
microscope. If she is producing eggs the cells of the
discharge will be cornified when viewed. 2) Having your vet test
your bitches progesterone level. A significant drop means
that your bitch is ready to be breed.

The end of the heat cycle the discharge will
change from a straw color back to a bloody discharge, or the
discharge will stop without bleeding again. A sudden stop
of discharge can be an indication that your girl is pregnant.. The vulva will firm back up and
reduce in size. It is not unusual for a pregnant bitches
vulva to stay slightly swollen and the nipples to enlarge.

Breeding
Your Bitch

There
are a number of methods toy dog breeders use while mating dogs
naturally. The first two descriptions are the what we suggest for
natural breeding.

Sitting on the floor holding the female and
helping the male tie the female. Holding the tie until the
completion of the breeding.

Holding the female on a grooming table and
helping the male tie the female. Holding the tie until the
completion of the breeding.

Putting the male and female together in a
confined area and not assisting in the breeding.

Leaving the male and female together to breed at
will during the heat cycle.

*The breeding pictured produced two
female puppies in the middle of the night by Emergency Cesarean
Section . The first puppy was to large to pass
through the dams small birth canal. After several
hours of hard labor the owner sought medical
treatment. The female was so tired the owner was
in jeopardy of losing mother and litter.

More Scientific methods of breeding are:

Artificial Insemination (A.I.) with fresh
collected sperm. (This is usually performed when a toy dog can
not naturally penetrate a female. Or when a female has not
been tested for Brucellosis and Micro plasma.)

Fresh Chilled Extended Semen (extended for a
maximum 24 hours) and artificially inseminated. Extended Semen
can be collected by the stud dogs veterinarian and shipped to
the bitches veterinarian for insemination.

Frozen Semen collected and stored for later
use. Shipped to the Veterinarian for artificial
insemination.

It is normal for a female to experience morning
sickness and lack hunger the 2nd and 3rd week of pregnancy. Feed
them their favorite foods at this time if they show signs of not
eating. Cottage Cheese or Yogurt mixed with their daily
kibble will sometimes help. Some breeders like to start giving
the females a small amount of raspberry tea leaves in their
daily food. The tea leaves are supposed to help with the
bitches ability to produce a natural born litter.

4 - 5 weeks make an appointment with your veterinarian
to have or palpated or sonogramed to find out if she is
pregnant. An experienced veterinarian can often tell if a
dog is pregnant by palpating the abdomen, the whelps at that
time will fill similar to the size of small pecans. Many
theories say check your female 21-28 days. We have more
success between 3 1/2 to 5 weeks. Also, International Canine
Genetics has a 95 percent reliable pregnancy test using blood
taken 27 to 38 days after the last breeding. For more
information, consult your veterinarian.

During the last two weeks of pregnancy increase
the intake of your bitches food, puppy food is suggested.
Calcium is a must during this time. The puppies bones are
now forming and additional calcium is not given to the mother it
could deprive her own calcium levels and later cause eclampsia.
We recommend people to use a natural form of calcium. A
tablespoon of cottage cheese daily thru pregnancy until the
weaning of the is what we give. Eclampsia, is a
life-threatening condition of lactating dogs that have whelped
(given birth to puppies). It arises when the affected dog’s
body becomes deficient in calcium. Usually it occurs within the
first three weeks after having the puppies. Infrequently it may
also occur before birth of the puppies and up to about six weeks
after whelping. Small dogs are more likely to develop this than
are large dog breeds. Many vets will recommend that you
sonogram or x-ray the mother during the last two weeks to make
sure the litter is normal sized, can potentially pass the birth
canal, and determine the number of whelps to be delivered.

The last week of pregnancy your bitch is
probably very uncomfortable. By this time you should have her in
place that is safe, warm, and private. We prefer to have our
pregnant girls in our bedroom in a puppy pen with a 100 size
crate bottom placed inside the pen. Your whelping supplies
should be gathered together and instruments sterilized. During
the last week, her milk is starting to come in. The puppies are
probably beginning to line up in the uterus preparing to announce
themselves to the world! At this time your bitches sides may be
taking on a concaved look. Her tummy will not be as round,
the backbone may be more visible, and the side of her tummy will
almost have a ridge appearance. The vulva will become
soft, pliable, and may have a slight discharge from a clear to a
light tan. Start taking her temperature 3 times daily. You
should expect to see a fluctuation in the temperature from 99 to
100 degree's. A temperature drop of 98.9 or below usually
indicates that your girl will be going into labor within the
next 24 hours. It is time to give your girl a maternity
clip by clipping the belly around the nipples and vulva area
with a 12 or 40 blade clipper. Trimming the tummy
keeps the puppies from getting caught in the stomach hair and if
you have a puppy that does not nurse well it makes it easier for
you to put them on the nipple. Clipping the britches and
vulva area is more sanitary for labor and delivery. Not to
forget to mention the discharge after delivery.